Us Against the World
by juniorvaristy
Summary: -SEQUEL TO REALIZATION-Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don’t exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand and people do things they normaly wouldn't do…SLAS
1. Adam

**Summary: **Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don't exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand…*sequel to Realization* SLASH!

**Author's Note: **If you haven't read Realization, I guess you could read this. But you should still take a look at it. By the way for all my readers who have yet to read the last chapter of Realization…it's up. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!      **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda.

**LOOK WHO'S BACK WITH A SEQUEL!!! ME!!!!!! The first chapter's kind of dry, but it'll get better. I promise. **

Adam

***

            "Banksie, your boyfriend's here," Portman poked me in the ribs. Even though I was sleepy beyond belief, I had to smile at his choice of words. Boyfriend. I really liked the sound of that. But the sleepiness in me refused to let me get out of bed. Getting no response from me, Portman just let him in. 

            "He won't get up," Portman stated matter-of-factly, "He was up late last night doing a report. Go figure." 

            I heard Charlie laugh, "On a Friday night? He's crazy."

            "He's _your boyfriend. You deal with him." And Portman left. It was quiet for a few minutes before I felt the edge of my bed sag with the weight of another person. Charlie grabbed my ankle and shook it lightly. _

            "Come on, Adam. Get up!" 

            I still didn't move, "Tired."

            "Well nobody forced you to finish that report last night, did they?"

            "Well…no," I sighed and finally moved to prop myself up on my elbow, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes with my other hand, "What?"

            Charlie stood up mocking a wounded expression, "Oh Adam, I'm hurt! Do I really need a reason to come over here?" 

            I rolled my eyes at him and threw a pillow at him head. Apparently, my aim at ten in the morning is worse than it is on the ice.

           "I have no clue how you're the best player on the team," Charlie gasped between laughs, "And still can't hit someone in the head with a pillow." I looked to see that the pillow had landed about three feet away from where Charlie was. I had to crack a smile. With much effort, I heaved myself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. I left the door open while I brushed my teeth so I could talk to Charlie.

            "Kori invited us back to her old town for winter break," Charlie said casually, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. I spit out some tooth-pasted.

            "Really?"

            "Yeah. She said her dad probably has extra rooms in the house or something like that. She invited the whole team." 

            I almost choked on my toothbrush, "_Everyone_?"    

            "Yeah I thought she was insane too. I mean, no house could fit thirteen lunatics in it. Well, except for yours." 

            "My house couldn't handle the raving lunacy of Averman and Russ together." 

            Charlie laughed. 

            "What? It couldn't!" I rinsed my mouth out and turned the sink off. 

            "You're probably right. So? Do you want to go or no?" 

            "Well of course I want to go. Do _you_ want to go?"

            "Yeah. Portman's probably going and Guy too. But I'm not too sure about the others. The out-of-state Ducks might want to go home. I don't know. Kori said she'll talk to everyone about it."

            "Okay." I replied easily and left the bathroom, kissing Charlie lightly on the cheek on my way out. 

            "Hey is that all I get? On the cheek? That's so cheap!" he protested, following me out. 

            "Excuse me, I am not cheap." But I wore a smile on my face anyway. 

            "Prove it." 

            "I have nothing to prove to you Charlie Conway." 

            "Fine…" he gave me that face that always made me want to grab him and kiss him, but I didn't. Not that time anyway. We headed down to breakfast together after I got dressed. As soon as we left the dormitories, we unlinked our hands. It was dangerous to be two guys holding hands on Eden Hall campus. Especially when there were a certain group of people that were entirely homophobic. Most of them were openly homophobic. Charlie and I figured that we'd been through enough shit already and we could save the absolute living hell part of the deal for later on. It had been bad enough admitting to each other our true feelings. We didn't know what to expect from the other guy, but it was all worth it in the end. At least I think it was. 

            "Hey guys," Kori Smith greeted us as we sat at our usual table. I nodded at her and grabbed the apple sitting on her tray.

            "Your very welcome Adam, it's not like I was going to eat that anyway," Kori commented sarcastically. I just grinned at her. 

            "So when are you going to see Jesse again?" Charlie asked, shifting the subject to Kori's boyfriend. They had gotten together two weeks before and a day prior to when Charlie and I got together. 

            "I don't know, probably winter break," Kori sighed, "I miss him though."

            "Don't you spend like…every night on the phone with him?" I asked her pointedly. Kori and I hadn't talked as much as we used to mainly because she was maintaining a long distance relationship and I was maintaining a private gay relationship.

            "Don't you see Charlie everyday?" she retorted. 

            "We all see Charlie everyday," Averman cut in, slightly confused. 

            "Yeah, and?" Kori asked, subtlety covering up for the real topic of conversation. Luckily, Averman hadn't heard any of it. 

            "I'm not even going to ask."

            "Don't," I told him smiling widely. Averman rolled his eyes and went off to get his food. The three of us exchanged glances. 

            "That was a close one," Charlie said quietly, barely above a whisper.

            "Yeah." Keeping our relationship a secret from our friends was not going to be easy. A part of me just wanted to tell them and get it over with, but Charlie didn't want that. Not yet anyway. He said that ignorance was bliss. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. 

**Thanks to all those who reviewed Realization! These are the shoutouts for the last chapter:**

**LB: **haha, thanks. I never thought of myself as the comical type. And I'm pretty sure you're an awesome writer; don't put yourself down like that!!

**Sphnix the Minx: **Awwww….thanks! I'm happy for Adam too. But since this is the sequel (and rumor has it that sequels are not good…eek!) more problems will definitely arise. *cough coming out cough*

**Eternity: **Thanks for the idea, I'm probably going to use it because it's the most realistic thing that would happen in real life. I'll definitely do the reaction of the other person that you mentioned though I'm not saying out loud here because it's between you and me. For now anyway. =D

**DuckHockey00214496: **hehehehehehe!! Your review cracked me up! Here's the sequel!

**Chelsea****: AHHH!!! I WROTE A SEQUEL!!!! Please keep those Newsies in your closet!! =D Chuck…hmm not a bad idea. I'll find a way to incorporate that in somehow. **

**Vinnies-Angel: **Yes! You must!!! Awww, thanks!! Look, I'm writing more!!! =D

**Skarlett: **Awww thanks! *sniff* That was such a sweet review…I'm touched. No seriously, I really am. I hope the sequel is just as appreciated.

**And thanks to everyone else to read Realization and who's reading this now!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Kori

**Summary: **Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don't exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand and people make choices they never would've imagined…*sequel to Realization* SLASH!

**Author's Note: **If you haven't read Realization, I guess you could read this. But you should still take a look at it. And for those of you who don't have the time to, e-mail me or something and I'll tell you the parts that you should definitely know.

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!      **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda. Everyone else belongs to Disney, sadly…

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to update!!**

Kori

***

            I watched as Adam and Charlie walked through the courtyard together, talking about something only they knew the meaning of. I smiled slightly before turning back to my homework. They were happy together, they were _made for each other. And even though they had to take the long way around, they finally hooked up. _

            "It must be hard to keep it all inside," Portman spoke from across the table. I jumped at his voice, forgetting that he was sitting there.

            "Yeah," I agreed, "But they don't seem to mind." Portman and I were the only ones that knew about Charlie and Adam. To everyone else, they were just best friends that hung-out together a lot. 

            "So, how's you and Jesse going?" Portman asked with an edge of teasing in his voice.

            "We're good," I blushed, "I mean as good as it can get long-distance wise, right?"

            "That didn't sound very convincing."

            I sighed, "I don't know. I'm excited to see him again over winter break. It's the end of winter and it's one of his favorite seasons and stuff so it'll be really cool. But at the same time…I feel like…I don't know. There's just this weird feeling nagging at me; that something's going to go wrong, you know?"

            "You're just being paranoid. We're all going to have a blast."

            "I know we are. I hope everyone likes my old friends. They're can be kind of weird sometimes so I'm not so sure."

            Portman grinned, "Excuse me, but we are _the_ weirdoes of the century so no one is too weird for us. We have Averman on our team," he said as if that explained everything.  I just laughed and turned back to my math equation, casting one last glance over at Adam before I did. To say that Adam and I have kind of drifted apart would only be part of the problem. When I first came to Eden Hall, Adam was assigned as my tour guide and I thought he'd be one of those preppy bastards that roamed the halls of Eden Hall, but I was wrong. Completely wrong. Adam Banks was one of the sweetest guys I'd ever met and he made an awesome guide. We went for walks every night after dinner just to get to know each other; it was his idea. After he stopped taking me to my classes everyday, I thought I'd be left to fend for myself. But I wasn't because Adam still said hi to me in the halls and he offered a seat at his regular meal-time table. Suddenly, my friends were his friends. We got close as the months passed and he confessed to me that he was gay, though not exactly through the perfect scene. It was a hectic two months, but I finally got him and Charlie Conway together. 

            Ever since then, which was almost two weeks ago, we each became so busy with our own lives that we didn't talk much anymore. At first I didn't think much of it because I was preoccupied with keeping my own relationship as well. But as I watched Adam and Charlie in the courtyard together, it made me sad and happy at the same time. I would never change the fact that Charlie and Adam were an item; I wouldn't dream of breaking up a perfect relationship. Still, I missed my friend. 

            "Hello?" one of my best friends, Jordan, picked up over the phone.

            "Jordan! It's Kori," I cried out happily at the sound of his voice.

            "Hey, what's up? Are you okay?"

            "Yeah I'm fine. I'm coming back for winter break with a few of my new friends," all the Ducks were coming, "It'll be a blast."

            "The same friends that you took boarding last month?"

            "Yeah, those friends. How's Shane?" I spoke of another one of my best friends and Jordan's lover. They were so cute, it made me sick sometimes.

            "He's okay. He just got over the flu so he's a bit out of it right now."

            "Tell him that I said feel better and say hi to Bryan to me. I should probably go and do some homework. We'll hang-out when I get there."

            "We better. Oh and Kori?" his voice was a little uncertain.

            "Yeah?"

            "Are you still hooked?"

            I felt myself go stiff. I never talked about that with _anyone at Eden Hall ever. And I didn't know if I could tell Jordan, "There's not much to get hooked on over here, Jordan," I told him wryly._

            "Kori, answer the question." What was I going to say? I wanted to say 'no' and I wanted to tell him that everything was okay with me again, that I wasn't going to crave it. But that would be a lie and lying to Jordan was like trying to get into AP Chemistry without getting help. So I gave him the best answer that I could. 

            "I don't know."

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Akemi Ishtar: **Aww thanks! I tried my best not to make her a bad OC/Marysue…sometimes it's impossible. Thanks for reading!

**Vinnies-Angel: **Well, your sequel's really good so far! Maybe Charlie could be like, "Well there _was someone else…" and then that someone else comes back and ruins the relationship again or something. I don't know *shrugs*_

**Skarlett: **EXCUSE ME!!! YOU ARE A GODDESS OF A SLASH WRITER!!!! 

**Meme-Ann: **Lol, it's okay, I understand. It _is_ kind of long, isn't it? Well if anything I'll fill you in on what happened as we go along. When I saw your review, I totally freaked out because I LOVE your writing.

**Hot-pepper96: **Thanks! You're right; there will be _a lot_ of drama.

**DuckHockey00214496: **LOL!!! Look! I updated!!!

**LB: **I'm really tired too, which is probably why it took me so damn long to get this chapter out!

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **Mini-spazes are what I do best when I review people's stories. Lots of drama ahead, look out!

**Nil_blaze: **Thank you!! Yeah I figured I might as well start the sequel because I really like this story; it's fun to write.

**Kellyerielf: **Awww thank you so much!!! Between you and my Everwood fics and you and my MD fics, it never gets dull!!

**Sphinx the Minx: **I love angst too…yeah it makes me happy, but I feel so bad for the characters. I am truly evil…I love seeing my fave characters in pain. That sounded wrong…

**Anne918: ***sigh* I dream of Adam all sleepy and in his PJ's…hehe

**Chelsea****: I BEAT COREY HAIM?!!?!?! OMG!!!! THANK YOU!! I beat Corey Haim…omg omg omg…=D As always, your reivew was awesome. I love getting them because they're so amazing! =D By the way, I'm working on Too Young…I kind of forgot about it for awhile…*looks guilty* hehe.**

**LilRebel55: **Their reactions will be mixed, I'll tell you that much. =D 

**Eternity: **Yeah, I know…so unaccepting. Thanks for the review!!


	3. Adam

**Summary: **Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don't exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand and people make choices they never would've imagined…*sequel to Realization* SLASH!

**Author's Note: **If you haven't read Realization, I guess you could read this. But you should still take a look at it. And for those of you who don't have the time to, e-mail me or something and I'll tell you the parts that you should definitely know.

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda. Everyone else belongs to Disney, sadly…

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to update!!**

Adam

***

            Classes ended and soon we were all on our way back to Kori's old town. Coincidentally, Kori had lived in Minnesota all her life, just in a city about four hours drive from Minneapolis where we went to school. She'd told us it was a tiny town called Crookston, 'a tiny dot on a map' she said. 

            "Good morning sunshine!" Averman greeted her on the morning of our departure. She looked about as tired as I felt, which was pretty tired. I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Tossing and turning,  I kept thinking about Charlie and our relationship. I was happy; never been happier actually. Still there was this part of me that wanted to tell the whole world that I was in love with Charlie Conway. At least the rest of the Ducks and possibly our parents anyway. Charlie was scared that they wouldn't accept us for who we were, which I thought was just ridiculous. But, I reasoned, he was still new at this whole being gay thing as opposed to me. 

            "Are we all ready?" Kori yawned, pasting a fake smile on her face. Uh-oh. Something was definitely wrong. It was time for me to investigate. Everyone nodded enthusiastically. If anyone else had caught the false cheer in Kori, they didn't show it. 

            "Let's go! How long's the plane ride going to be?" Russ asked. Kori yawned again as we pushed the doors of the school open, exposing us to the frigid February cold. She shivered slightly before turning to Russ. 

            "An hour flight, plus a few hours at the airport. You know how security is." 

            "Are you cold?" I asked her, inching towards her. 

            "A little," she admitted smiling weakly at me, "So how are things going?"

            "Great. What about  you?"

            "Great." We walked on in an awkward silence. I didn't like it, the silence I mean, but what could I do? Charlie found his way over to us as we boarded the bus to the airport. Kori sat with Portman and I sat with Charlie right in front of them. 

            "Are you okay?" Charlie asked, discreetly finding my hand. I squeezed his tightly.

            "Yeah," I sighed, "I'm fine. I'm just worried about our pink friend."

            "Who? Kori? Why?"

            "She seems out of it, that's all."

            Charlie glanced back at her before saying, "She's just tired, I guess. Don't worry. Did I ever tell you that you worry way too much?"

            "I do not," I whispered loudly.

            "Do too."

            "Do not!"

            "Do too!"

            "DO NOT!"

            "DO TOO!!!" Everyone was staring at us now and Charlie immediately dropped my hand though I doubt anybody would've seen it hidden behind out hats and gloves. Both of us grinned sheepishly before the whole bus, which consisted of only the Ducks, erupted into laughter. 

            "I swear," Luis choked out between laughs, "You two act more and more like an old married couple everyday." Charlie's smile flickered for only a second before grabbing a hat and throwing it at him. 

            "Next thing you know, they'll tell us they're planning to get married in two weeks!" Russ quipped, sending everyone into a second round of fits. Kori and Portman pretended to laugh lightly, though they sent us looks when we glanced back at them. It was all I could do to keep my posture and pretend it was all fun and games instead of screaming that it was true. 

            "You guys…aren't, are you?" Guy regarded us with mock seriousness.            

            Charlie rolled his eyes, "Please."

            I let out a laugh, "Right…" I hoped I didn't sound as nervous as I felt. I'm sure my face was twice as red as Averman's hair though. 

            "Oh come on, you assholes, cut it out!" Kori interjected, throwing a random object in their direction, "It's too early in the morning to be listening to you guys make disgusting jokes." 

            "Excuse us," Averman said loudly, "You're obviously not a morning person. What's up _her ass?"_

            "If you're not carefull, you'll have something up yours in a few seconds," Kori warned him in a dangerously low tone. Averman shut up pretty quickly after that. Kori could be scary sometimes. 

*~*

            It was a winter wonderland. Crookston was different than Edina or Minneapolis. It was quieter, more serene. Kori's dad picked us up at the airport in a pick-up truck, laughing merrily at Averman's corny jokes and Dwayne's…male ditz. Small stores lined the small cobblestone road and every so often, Mr. Smith would stop and converse with a few people. They would recognize Kori and marvel at how much she'd grown, even though she was sitting down, and complement Mr. Smith on what a wonderful daughter he had. Kori, in return, would nod politely, smile and thank the locals for their complements. Mr. Smith allowed Kori to open up the window separating the bed and cab of the truck so she could talk to us. A few times, she looked at me through the rearview mirror and made a face. I stifled a laugh. We were cramped in the back, that was to say the least. Julie sat on Portman's lap while Connie rested on Guy's. Charlie was on the floor between my legs and everyone else sat scattered in the same manner. One on the suitcase, one on the floor. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it was luxurious. 

            "This is it," Mr. Smith announced proudly as we pulled up to some huge property. Kori got out of the car and opened up the bed for us. Goldberg and Averman sprang out of the car first and the rest of us followed. For a small town, the houses all over it were pretty big. Still, I reasoned, there was definitely not enough room for all of us to be staying here. 

            As if reading my thoughts, Kori said, "Not all of you are staying here though. I have a few friends that live down the block and some on the next street. They offered their houses for you, but I don't trust some of you to go off on your own," she smiled, "And my brother is bringing two friends so his room is off-limits."

            "Where does your brother go to school?" Connie asked.

            Kori hesitated uncomfortablely, "He lives in Chicago. Our parents got divorced a year before I started at my other school. It was a private school too. After that year, my father decided that I needed to get away so he sent me to Eden Hall. Kevin might start there next year too."

            "That would be cool if your brother came to Eden Hall," Goldberg commented.

            She nodded, "Yeah. Let's get you guys settled first. Averman, Goldberg, Luis, and Russ. You're all staying at my house because I definitely don't trust you guys in other people's houses so get settled in here." Everyone laughed and she shrugged. We all knew it was true.   

            "Okay well, down the block is Shane's house," she pointed to a big, red brick house at the end of the sidewalk, "Shane's at work right now so he won't be home until later, but Adam, Charlie, and Ken will be staying here." She took us around the block to a huge white house, "This is Bryan McCauly's place. He's probably at the courts with his friends. He plays basketball and football.  Connie, Guy, and Dwayne will be staying here." Winding back around to her house and onto a new street just a block away, she stopped again in front of a yellow house, "This is Jordan Keefe's house, but he's at work with Shane. Portman, Fulton, and Julie are staying here. Sorry Jules," she apologized. Julie laughed. 

            "What are your friends like? Are they cool?" Connie asked.

            Kori nodded, "Yeah. I put you guys in houses according to their personalities and stuff. Jordan, he's the wildest one of us all, which is why I put the Bash Brothers with him. I knew Julie would probably have the most patience too."

            "You're probably right," Julie nodded, laughing. 

            "Yeah, that's what I though," Kori smiled, "Bryan is really calm and easy-going. He gets along with everyone who wants to get along with him. He's a senior, which has its advantages. Shane is kind of reserved and quiet when you first meet him, but he can be crazy when he wants to be. He's kind of like Banksie. Except he can't play hockey for shit, none of us can actually. Oh yeah and you should know that Bryan is the only one of all of us who didn't color his hair in any way. Jesse too, but he's not coming until tomorrow. He's in Duluth now and he'll be staying with Bryan." She got a faraway look on her face once she talked about Jesse. 

            "Korienna Smith!" a voice called out. We all spun around to find a boy coming towards her, brown hair, green eyes. He was pretty good-looking too. 

            "Bryan!" she broke from our little group and flew towards him, tackling him in a big hug. 

            The boy, Bryan, laughed, "Sorry I wasn't here to see you get home. I was at the train station, picking Jesse up. He called me out of the blue and told me that he was coming in a day early."

            "Oh my gosh, really?!"

            "Yeah, he's at my house right now. Who are your friends?" He noticed us.

            Kori introduced all of us and Bryan politely said hi. As we trudged back to Bryan's house, Kori dropped back and came in step with me.

            "Hey guess what?" she asked me and Charlie in an undertone.

            "What?" we said at the same time.

            "There's this guy I know. His name is Damon and he's been looking for a significant other around here, but you know how it is in small towns. You think you could set him up with someone you know?"

            Charlie and I exchanged glances, "Probably," a smile crossed all three of our faces, "Definitely."

            "Jordan and Shane are gay too," she said randomly after a pause, "They're a couple; just thought I'd let you know since you're staying with Shane. He _might even give you your own room to share," she raised her eyebrows suggestively. Charlie and I blushed furiously and he met my eyes. We nodded and picked her up at the same time, running with her past the Ducks. She kicked and screamed at us, but we were both stronger than her as it was anyway. _

**Thanks for all the reivews:**

**Melissa: **Aww thank you so much!

**LilRebel55: **You'll find out soon enough. I think. Maybe not since I don't know when I'm going to intertwine that with the next mess that's coming up.

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **LOL! You're funny. You'll meet Jordan and Shane next chapter and I guess you'll see Jesse again in the next chapter too. And you may be right. You're probably right. 

**Sphinx the Minx: **Yeah, well, you know how it is. Once an angst-slut, always an angst-slut. I'm one too! Well there's plenty of angst coming your way in this story.

**Kshyne99: **Awww thanks!

**Chelsea****: LOL! I'll add you once I get the chance. Yeah, I probably do need to make them longer, but hey. Shorter chapters make you keep coming back for more =D. Nah, I'll try my best to make the angsty ones longer.**

**LB: **Yeah, teachers are evil. Definitely.

**Meme-Ann: **Yes, you sounded very royal-like. Almost Prince William worthy! Okay well, what happened was Kori lived in that town all her life and then her parents divorced so her older brother, Kevin, left with their mom and Kori stayed. Then she left her private school and went to Eden Hall. Bryan's a jock who's locker was next to hers which was basically how they became friends. If you're ever confused, just ask or e-mail me. =D

**Skalett: **Thank you very much! Yeah, I know I'm bad with this updating business. *shrugs* High school sucks. That's all I can offer as an excuse. Hehe. 


	4. Jesse

**Summary: **Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don't exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand and people make choices they never would've imagined…*sequel to Realization* SLASH!

**Author's Note: **If you haven't read Realization, I guess you could read this. But you should still take a look at it. And for those of you who don't have the time to, e-mail me or something and I'll tell you the parts that you should definitely know.

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!        **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda. Everyone else belongs to Disney, sadly…

For anyone who didn't read 'Realization', you'll be confused in this chapter. Read this: 

And this:

And (last one) this:

You'll understand it after you read that. The 1st and 2nd ones aren't too long. The longest one is the last one. You'll be less confused as to what happened between Jesse and Kori after that. Happy reading!

Jesse

***

            I really hoped nothing bad would happen on the vacation. A part of me felt as if I was getting myself into a big disaster, but I _had_ to visit my old home again. I wanted to see all my friends and Kori. She was the main reason for my worry, not that I didn't rust her or anything. It was always fun at our old school, watching her get into trouble and even managing to escape from the wrath of the Dean sometimes. It was a big shift for me, at first, to befriend her and her two best friends. I guess you could say it was a movie kind of thing. The preppy ass jock, which was me, becomes friends with the punk and falls in love with her. But Kori's not really a punk. She just found amusement in coloring her hair. That was always the part that got people confused about her. Jordan, Shane, and Kori were definitely _not preps or punks. They were…Jordan, Shane, and Kori. And that was good enough for them._

            "Hi Jesse!" 

            "What's up?" were the general responses when Kori introduced me again to her friends from Eden Hall. Her two best friends there, Adam Banks and Charlie Conway, smiled brightly at me. Adam was probably most like me in that group only because he was a preppy jock who hung-out with not-so-preppy people. Not that it was a bad thing. I liked Adam a lot. I just thought he was the one preventing Kori from giving me the phone call I'd been waiting for at first. But they assured me that Adam and Kori had no interest in each other whatsoever. 

            Damon came around to hang-out with us around dinner time and we made introductions. Damon's been bisexual for some time. He came out to us that he liked guys as well as girls many months ago, right before Kori left for Eden Hall. Damon'd never been too close with the rest of us, but he was close with Bryan. We got along well with him so it wasn't as if it was horrible. All I knew was that Jordan didn't like him too much though he never let it on. I couldn't help noticing, though, that his stare lingered on Charlie Conway for just a moment longer than was necessary or comfortable. I hoped Charlie didn't notice and I hoped, for Charlie's sake, Damon wouldn't hit on him or anything. If you don't know anything about Damon, just know this: He is a brutal player in the game of love. And he almost never loses. There was only that one time when he attempted to hit on Jordan, which failed miserably. It was probably why Jordan didn't like him very much either. 

            "Julie?" Adam asked, turning to Kori. They were sitting next to each other at the restaurant table, Kori across from me, discussing something. I wasn't exactly sure what. 

            Kori shook her head slightly, "No. She's with Scooter and Connie's with Guy and both you and I and the rest of the world know that they will never be apart no matter how many times they fight."

            "That's true," Adam laughed. 

            "He's bi, you know. If we could only name girls, I wouldn't have asked," she said rolling her eyes. I figured it out that they were trying to set Damon up with somebody. I had the urge to blurt out Damon's name, but decided against it. It wasn't my place to butt in. Not yet anyway. 

            "Well that makes things a lot easier!" Adam exclaimed, "Portman? He hasn't stated which way he swings yet. And he doesn't exactly have a girlfriend either." 

            "But he tried to hit on those girls at school remember?"

            "So?"

            "Good point. Luis? Ken? How about Ken? He hasn't had any love action going on." I didn't know who they were talking about anymore; I'd lost track of all the Ducks' names already. 

            "What about Charlie?!" I blurted out, just like I'd told myself not to. Of course, when does my mouth ever listen to my brain? Next to never. Kori and Adam looked up, startled that I was listening to their conversation. A look of confusion came across Kori's face and a mix of envy and horror crossed Adam's. I wondered what I said. Did Charlie already have a girlfriend or boyfriend? Was he anti-dating? I was so confused. 

            Kori cleared her throat gently, "I don't know…he probably won't be interested."

            "Probably not. He's pretty apathetic when it comes to these things," Adam agreed uneasily.

            I bit my lip, "I don't think that's a very good thing for Charlie," I looked over and Kori and shrugged, "You know how Damon gets when he wants something. Or someone." The whole table shook as Adam clumsily got up.

            "I have to go to the bathroom, be right back." He practically ran to the back of the restaurant as if his pants had caught fire. I looked at Kori helplessly. What did I say? 

            "Sensitive subject, don't worry about it. You didn't know," she assured me quietly, in an undertone so nobody else would hear. I felt horrible for saying anything at all. I sat there, dumbfounded, not even able to respond to Kori or touch my food. I was silent the rest of the dinner. After Adam came back, everyone asked him if he was okay and he responded with a casual, "I'm fine." He avoided eye contact with me, though he did catch my eye once during the meal to see my apologetic look. He brushed it off and acted as if everything was okay. I hoped it wasn't just an act. 

            "I'm so sorry," I whispered under my breath as we got up to leave. 

            He shrugged, "No big. Sorry I freaked out on you like that." 

            "It's okay." We walked on in silence until we reached the door to go outside. Adam peeled off from where we were standing and caught up with Charlie and this other guy who was pretty big. They were talking and laughing just like they'd been before. What I still didn't get was the sensitivity of the subject of Charlie.

            "How've you been?" I asked clumsily, sidling up next to Kori as Shane entertained the Ducks after dinner. We walked side-by-side, following the rest of our friends. Things were still awkward between us at the very least.

            "Pretty good, you?"

            "Okay." It was silent. Sighing, I gently took her hand and wondered if I dared to ask. No, I didn't. but I needed to know; I _had_ to know.

            "Kori…" I trailed off feeling uneasy. She looked up at me, acknowledging the fact that I was talking to her. 

            "I don't want this to come out wrong, but," I stopped walking and turned to face her, "Are you still addicted to…heroin?" I gulped. Kori's face was unreadable and she paused for a moment before looking off into the distance.

            "No," she said somewhat bravely.

            I sighed a breath of relief, "That's good. I'm proud of you."

            She smiled a tiny bit, "Thanks," she kissed my cheek, "Let's go catch up with the others before Shane leads them off of a cliff or something." I laughed, nodding, and quickly followed after her.

            "I'm hungry!!" the red-head guy (I think his name starts with and A?) shouted.

            "You're _always hungry!" everyone yelled at him with amusement._

            "I'm a growing boy!" he protested. I chuckled. I knew on thing was for sure. This vacation definitely wouldn't be boring.  

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**LilRebl55: **Well, at least I know I'm doing a pretty good job when someone says they're addicted! J

**Beloved: **Haha, thanks!

**Anne918: **Oh it's okay, I miss updates all the time! The Ducks teasing Adam and Charlie could be a foreshadow. Maybe not. We'll see. Thanks!

**Meme-Ann: **No, no, no, no. You can share the position of dutchess with me. Whoever said there couldn't be two dutchesses is totally wrong J. 

**Sphinx the Minx: **Oh yeah, I always too lazy to log-in J. Adam will have to suffer some…okay a lot of pain in this story. But so will Charlie and Jesse and Kori. So there will be plenty of angst coming your way!!

**DuckHockey00214496: **I try to post whenever I can. But high school proves to be more difficult than it seems! Damn TV! LIES I TELL YOU!

**Skarlett: **Adam and Charlie will, not only get their own room, but a lot of their own moments in this story because well, who can resist good ChAdam angst?

**Chelsea****: *Sigh* The Terminator…good movies. Good movies. Team's reactions are very close to being here. And I'm still trying to somehow incorporate Coach Bombay into the story so that his reaction will be there too. I'll get the kinks worked out somehow. **

**LB: **LOL! What I meant was that she got out of the car and opened up the door to the bed of the truck for them. I guess I should've clarified that. I hope you're not too confused anymore!

**Please review!!!**


	5. Adam

**Summary: **Charlie and Adam. Kori and Jesse. Two perfect couples. Only one couple has two guys. When the Ducks don't exactly like the idea of homosexuality, things get a little out of hand and people make choices they never would've imagined…*sequel to Realization* SLASH!

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!        **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda. Everyone else belongs to Disney, sadly…

**Author's Note: **Thanks SO MUCH to Meme for helping me out: This chapter is dedicated to her because she is the best! 

Adam

***

            I knew I shouldn't have gotten so upset after Jesse's comment about Damon and Charlie. After all, he didn't know that Charlie was my boyfriend. But something inside of me snapped and I had to leave before something bad happened. This was the big problem with trying to keep a reltaionship under wraps. You weren't supposed to show any emotion when your other half's name was mention. I needed to learn how to do that. Soon.

            "Are you alright?" Charlie asked me that night as we headed off to sleep. As Kori had predicted, Shane gave us our own room, letting Ken share his room with him. 

            I nodded, "Yeah, I'm just a little tired." I didn't want to tell him about the whole Damon thing. At least not yet. Whatever Charlie didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. At least not yet. It wasn't as if I'd _never_ tell him; I just perfered to put it off until later. 

            "Are you sure?" he looked at my skeptically. I forced a yawn and shook my head, yes. The conversation was closed. We lay on two separate beds in silence for awhile. This was too weird. Sure Charlie and I had spent a lot of time together lately, but we'd never spent nights together. 

            "Night Adam," Charlie mummbled sleepily.

            "Night." I turned towrads him, watching as he drifted peacefully off into a world of his dreams. Soon, he was snoring softly, oblivious to the problems of the world. Or at least the problems in his life. My life. I wondered how he did it. Didn't he ever worry about people finding out? Then again, I reasoned with myself, he wasn't the type to really _care_ what other people thought anyway. They only reason why everyone didn't already know about us was probably because of me. Suddenly, I felt sick. My insecurities were holding him back and eating me alive. Not to mention with everything that was happening with Damon, I almost felt as if it was a bad omen. From all the things Kori and Jesse had told me and from what I'd seen before, Damon wasn't an insecure guy. If he were to date Charlie, everyone would know. He got what he wanted and frankly, he wanted my boyfriend. He was cute, aggressive, and quite secure with who he was. In short, Damon was everything I wasn't. And I was more than a little afraid of what would happen when he decided that he wanted to make a move. After hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell into a fitfull sleep.

            Everything was so dark. Everything. We were at a party at Shane's house and everywhere around me, people were hooking up. Shane and Jordan on the couch, Fulton and his girlfriend on the counter top, Portman and some random girl, Guy and Connie, Julie and Scooter, Bryan and some girl, Averman, Russ, Ken, Goldberg…all with somebody. What the hell was going on? I ran to another room. It was empty except for Jesse and Kori in a dark corner. 

            "Go away, Adam." Kori groaned as Jesse kissed her, sucking on her collarbone. I turned and ran out of the room, up the stairs and to the guest room where Charlie and I were staying. Charlie. He would know what was going on. I swung the door open.          

            "Charlie," I gasped, "You have to…" I stopped hosrt at the sight of the pair in front of me. Damon and Charlie. 

            "Adam…I…" he stuttered. Words could not describe the feeling rising from deep withi me. My throat literally closed. Suddenly, I was practically gasping for air and tears were welled in my eyes.

            "Why?" I squeaked, eyes darting from a blurred image of Damon to a blurred image of Charlie. Damon. Damn that stupid bastard, wearing that damn smirk of his. 

            "He's just," Charlie paused and walked over to me, putting his hands on both my shoulders. I shrugged him off and turned my back to him.

            "Adam. Banksie. Are you okay? Listen."

            I nodded.

            "It's nothing personal. It's just that Damon's not so insecure about who he is and what he wants. You are. He's more…like me in a way. We just get along so much better and we…click better. That's all. I'm sorry, Adam."

            I spun around, letting the tears fall and the anger get the best of me, "Nothing personal? I think it's very personal! Just admit it, Charlie! You just want him more because he's willing to tell the whole world that he's gay! And you know what? I'm sorry too! I wish I could be that guy for you. After everything we've been through, no it's not okay. I'm not okay! I can't fucking stand the thought of you being taunted all the time and that's why I won't let anyone know! Yes! I'm insecure and I'm letting it take over, but you know what? At least I have the balls to admit it!" I was hysterical by the end, crumpling under the gaze of a shocked Charlie and even Damon. I tried to compose myself, but everytime I tried I cried harder. Charlie reached out to help me up, but I pushed him away. Quickly grabbing some of my shit, I raced out the door.

            "Adam!" he called. 

            "Fuck you, Conway!" was my response. I ran as fast as I could out of the house and down the street. Nobody came after me. Not even Kori or Portman. Or Charlie. It suddenly got colder. I shivered, walking alone through the darkness. Flashes of the stuipd smirk on Damon's face ran through my head as…

            I bolted up, gasping. Where was I? Shane's house. Kori's friend. Winter break. Oh. Right. I looked over to Charlie's bed to find it empty. The covers were messily thrown around and his pajamas were scattered, as if haphazardly thrown there, which meant that he'd gotten up awhile ago. I glanced at the clock. 9:30 AM. I ran a hand through my sweaty hair, calming down a bit. It was just a dream. Just a fucking dream. Charlie was still my boyfriend. Everything was going to be okay. Besides, Fulton's girlfriend wasn't with us on this vacation and neither was Scooter. 

            "You're definitely losing it," I muttered to myself, heading towards the bathroom. As I brushed my teeth, I looked at myself in the mirror. I wasn't insecure…was I? No. I was perfectly secure with who I was! In fact, if Charlie wanted to tell everyone in the whole fucking universe about us, he could. Yeah. Adam Banks: gay and with Charlie Conway. What was so wrong about that? _'What would your father say?'_ a little voice in my head echoed. I slammed the toothbrush down and rinsed out quickly. What was with this? Was it 'Everybody haunt Adam about his fears' day? I rushed out of the bathroom to get dressed. No. I wasn't insecure. I pulled on a pair of khakis. Of course I wasn't insecure. I was perfectly fine with the way I was. I pulled on a button shirt over a white t-shirt. I wasn't afraid of what everyone else thought of me. If they thought it was wrong, then I didn't have to be friends with them, right? Right. Quickly splattering gel into my hair, I left the room to grab some breakfast and figure out the plans for the day. 

            I heard voices of the Ducks in the hallway and rolled my eyes. How was it that whenever my friends didn't need to get up for practice or school or something like that, they always got up early? I was forced to literally _drag_ Portman out of bed on a daily basis back at Eden Hall. On the one day that he could sleep late, he decided he wanted to get up early. There went all my effort wasted. I smiled to myself at that thought and walked into the living room. 

            "Well look who rose from the dead!" Kori giggled, jumping up from her seat on the couch and practically smothering me with a hug. 

            I laughed, "It's nice to see you too."

            "I know," she smiled and said in my ear, "Charlie's in the kitchen eating if you're wondering because I know you are." 

            I shrugged, "What can I say?" With that, I headed to the kitchen, leaving my other friends to…whatever it was they were doing. I was going to tell Charlie that I was okay with it. We could tell the Ducks and Coach Bombay and our families…well, _his_ family at the very least, that we were dating. Because I was _not_ insecure. Not Adam Banks. No way. I walked into the kitchen with a broad smile on my face. 

            "Hey Charlie," I started, looking up. Damon. What was he…doing here? My heart rate increased steadily and I knew if I didn't get out of there soon, I would start hyperventilating. What was he doing eating breakfast with Charlie? They were eating cereal. Fruity Pebbles. Charlie's favorite. They were laughing. 

            "Good morning, sleeping beauty!" he smiled with a hint of teasing in his voice.  Damon smiled at me and said something along the lines of 'hey' and he wore that annoying smirk. I wanted to smack him. But I didn't.

            "I, um, just remembered I forgot something. Bye." I said this quickly and raced out of the room and out the door, past curious eyes, feeling my throat tightening again. I tried to calm myself down. They were just eating cereal together. He probably ate breakfast with Shane almost every morning anyway. It wasn't like they were actually kissing or some shit like that. No. Not at all. 

            "Okay I give up," I muttered to myself, "I'm the most insecure person I know." I'd known that all along. The real question was: What the fuck was I supposed to do about it?

**Thanks for the reviews!!**

**Kate: **Oh, of course not! I wouldn't abandon this fic…ever! Thanks for reading!

**Kellyerielf: **Oh, don't worry about it. I haven't been around the fandom much lately anyway. Thank you for loving it and reading it and being so cool. Yes I know, Damon's a bastard. But it all plays into this story well, I promise. 

**Atalanta's apples: **Haha! Thanks for reading both of them! Yeah reading fanfics is the ideal procrastination method for me too. I was actually thinking of making Charlie jealous because then I would've made him all violent and cause more drama and shit like that, but I got this idea for something else later. J

**Conway****'s-babe-4-life: **Joshua Jackson's a hottie, yes I agree.

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **Haha yeah Jesse was a prick in Realization, but you'll like him. For a bit at least. You'll meet Damon in the next chapter. 

**Sphinx the Minx: **No, it's not bad that you're happy about Banks pain because I get happy about Banks pain too. I think it's just the angst appeal or something.

**Vinnies-Angel: **Um…well…I tried to update sooner, I really did. But the whole high school thing with my parents on my back constantly and a hell of a writer's block kind of got in the way. Sorry!

**StormShadow21 (****Chelsea****): **Thanks so much for your always appreciated reviews!! I'm sorry I haven't updated in like…forever. I'll try harder this time! J

**Meme: **Thanks so much for helping this chapter along otherwise it wouldn't be out until who knows when. You rock!

**Beloved: **Awww thanks for loving it J

**Please review!!**


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